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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTCE.

-ALFRED ED\VARD ARNOLD, OF MARRIOKVILLE, NEAR SYDNEY, NEIV SOUTH ALES.

PROCESS OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL LEATHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 454,835, dated June 30, 1891. Application filed March 29. 1888. Serial No. 268,838. (No specimens.)

To all whom, it may concern: fect said product. I next reduce the waste Be it known that I, ALFRED EDWARD AR- leather or scraps in any suitable manner by NOLD, engineer, a subject of the Queen of hand or machinery to shreds-that is to say, Great Britain, residing at Marrickville, near to a more or less fibrous condition. I next Sydney, in the British Colony of New South take the finer particles of leather resulting 55 \Vales, have invented certain new and useful from the above-described operation of reduc- Improvements in Processes of l\,laking Arti ing the waste leatherna1nely, the more or ficial Leather; and I do hereby declare that less granular material and the dust, or I rethe following is a full, clear, and exact descripduce waste leather or artificial-leather scraps tion of the invention, such as will enable or waste resulting from the manufacture of 6r others skilled in the art to which it appertains such to a more orless granular or pulverulent to make and use the same. form. Having prepared the three compounds The invention relates to the manufacture necessary to the manufacture of my improved ,.of artificial leather, and has forits object the artificial leathernamely, the binding so- I 5 manufacture of an article superior to those lution, the shredded or fibrous leather, and 6 5 heretofore made, in that it is more compact, the granular or more or less pulverulent harder, and more durable, so as to be adapted leather-I immerse the shredded or fibrous for use as brake-blocks for i'ailwaycarriages leather in the binding solut oinso as to thorand other like purposes for which artificial oughlyimpregnate suchleather therewith and leather has heretofore not been used except strain off the surplus solution. The same is in a very limited way, owing to the rapid wear done with the granular or more or less pulof the blocks. Verulentleather, which afterthorough impreg- The invention consists, essentially, in the nation and removal of the surplus solution is mode or process of manufacture, as hereinafdried in such manner as to keep itin its gran- 2 5 ter fully set forth. ularform. Some of the impregnated fibrous In the manufacture of my improved artileather is now placed in a mold while moist, ficial leather I proceed as follows: I first preand some of the dry granular impregnated pare a glutinous solution of a peculiar nature leather is spread over the layer of fibrous that serves as a binder for the materials emleather, so as to completely fill out all spaces 0 ployed. This solution is substantially an ex or interstices. This operation is repeated tract of untanned hide, and its preparation until the mold is full, when pressure is applied is fully set forth in my application for patso as to compress the material, such pressure ent, Serial No. 321,522, filed August 21, 1889, being preferablyapplied from all sides of the and need therefore not be particularly demold at one and the same time to prevent 3 5 scribedhere,exceptto say that it is peculiarly lamination. The molded material may then adapted for use as a binder in the manufacbe sawed or otherwise fashioned into shape ture of artificial leather, in that it does not or finally shaped by pressure. By applying tend to render the product brittle, the said the pressure from all sides of the mold simulproduct retaining a certain degree of pliabiltaneously a thoroughly homogeneous body is 40 ity or elasticity, wherebyitis eminently fitted obtained without lamination, the interstices go for hard usage and less liable to wear. l'Iavbetween the fibrous material being filled with ing prepared the binding solution,'I next take the granular material, the product being of a scraps of leather or hide, generally known as more or less fibrous nature, enhancing itspropwaste, frombootandshoe factories,saddlererties, especially its resistance to frictional 5 ies,tanneries,&c.,infactanywaste unperished action, thus eminently fitting the article for 5 leather, and remove therefrom all foreign subsuch uses as hereinbefore stated. stancessuch as wood, metals, dirt, &c.that The object in applying the granularimpregwould deleteriously affect the final product nated leather in a dry state is to take up the either by interfering with the homogeneity moisture of the shredded leather, which I 50 thereof or otherwisetendingto injuriously afhave found to be sufficient to again sufti- I00 ciently moisten the binding material with which the'granularleather is impregnated as to bind the two firmly together, so that when the article leaves the mold it may be fashioned or shaped by means of tools while it yet retains sufficient plasticity to adapt it to receive its final form in a mold by pressure.

By the above process I obtain a composition of matter heretofore not produced, the

properties of which have been fully set forth. This composition of matter I do not desire to claim herein, as it forms the subject-matter of a separate application for patent filed August 21, 1889, Serial No. 321,523.

Having described my invention, What I dry state, and subjecting the compound to 25 pressure, as described.

ALFRED EDIVARD ARNOLD. \Vitnesses:

FRED WALsH, HENRY P. OHA'IER. 

